Summary

Using existing physical parameterizations, a new mathematical model is formulated to diagnose the diurnal variation of the energy fluxes and temperature on the snow-free tundra surface at Princess Marie Bay, Ellesmere Island, Canada. The input to the model consists of three meteorological variables which can be readily measured by an automatic weather station: incoming short-wave radiation, windspeed and screen level temperature. The model is based on the one-dimensional heat conduction equation for unfrozen soil, with surface heat exchange by short- and long-wave radiation and by convection and evaporation. A permafrost surface is used as a lower boundary condition. The model is formulated and tuned using a series of data from the Princess Marie Bay site. It is then tested using a separate data set from the same site and an independent data set from a nearby site.

References

Desrosiers, J., 1991:Growth Response Patterns of Saxifraga oppositifolia L. along a soil Moisture Gradient in the Canadian High Arctic. Unpublished M.Sc. thesis, University of Alberta, Edmonton, 120p.Google Scholar